


And I Keep Waiting

by Kika988



Series: Keithtober/Smoochtober [6]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Found Family, Keithtober 2018, Krolia and Shiro have a chat, M/M, Prompt: desert, prompt: family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-07-28 12:32:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16241684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kika988/pseuds/Kika988
Summary: "I just want you to understand how important you are to him," she said carefully. "And as an extension of that, you're important to me, too. That's why I'm telling you this: If I learned anything from my time on Earth with Tex, and then with Keith, it's that we never know how much time we have with whatever kind of family we're lucky enough to find. I'd imagine you know that almost as well as I do, at this point."





	And I Keep Waiting

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back on that Keithtober grind! In an effort to play catch-up, I combined two of the prompts in this one: Desert and Family. I'm not entirely sure where I was going with this one, but Krolia demanded a conversation with Shiro, and _I'm_ not going to be the one to tell her no. I'm not a huge fan of the name "Tex" for Keith's dad, but since it's what the fandom seems to have settled on, it's what I went with. Title is from Christina Perri's Distance.
> 
> This takes place during season 7, sometime during the return journey to Earth.

The planet they'd stopped on was dry and arid, mostly flat but with the occasional mesa dotting the landscape. It wasn't as hot as Shiro had expected from the look of it, and the sandy dirt was a little more green-tinted than the deserts back home, but it was close enough that Shiro could almost imagine he was just on leave from the Garrison for the evening. 

Well, the missing arm and the persistent exhaustion he'd been dealing with since he woke up in his new body ruined that illusion, but he could pretend. 

Coran swore there were edible tubers on this planet, so he, Hunk, and Pidge had set off in search of them. Allura and Lance were working on setting up camp while Keith and Krolia did a quick sweep of the perimeter. Shiro had offered to join them, but Keith had taken one look at Shiro's face and shaken his head, instructing him to rest instead. 

It wasn't unwarranted, really. Shiro was tired, despite only having been awake about seven hours so far today. He hadn't done much beyond a very basic workout -- which Keith had protested, but Shiro needed to get back in fighting shape, even if he was fighting with one arm -- but now his body felt leaden and lethargy pulled at his mind. He had been slowly improving since he woke up in the clone's body, but it was going slower than he'd like. 

When he'd expressed that to Keith yesterday, the younger man had merely replied "patience yields focus," with a particularly smug grin that had almost broken through the last of Shiro's resolve and made him kiss Keith then and there. 

And that? That was new. Shiro could remember countless hours of sitting with Keith looking out over a desert much like this one, after racing for hours. They'd talked about anything and everything -- but there had never been the tension that lived between them now. Keith had been a good friend, one of his _best_ friends, but never more than that. Between Keith's age and Shiro's love for Adam, nothing more had ever even crossed his mind. 

Then there was Kerberos, and the Galra, and his harrowing flight back to Earth, and the Keith that had rescued him from the Garrison's facility was different from the one he'd left behind. Things had changed between them over the following months, but not in a way Shiro could put a name to. 

They leaned on each other more than they did their teammates. Shiro sometimes wondered if he leaned too hard, but Keith never wavered. And then when Shiro died, when he could only watch helplessly from behind Black's eyes, he realized that Keith needed him just as badly, and realized that at some point his feelings for his friend had shifted into something more. 

Honestly, he never should have doubted that Keith would find him, even with death itself standing between them. 

Shiro was pulled from his musings by the sound of light footsteps behind him. He looked back over his shoulder to see Krolia approaching. 

"Everything okay?" he asked, starting to rise. She held out a hand, gesturing for him to stay put. 

"All clear," she reported as she sank down to sit beside him. "Keith's helping set up camp. By which I mean arguing with Lance about how big the fire actually needs to be." Her face didn't betray much, as always, but her tone was fond, and Shiro couldn't help but smile. 

"They're getting along better than they used to, but some things never change," he replied. Krolia nodded, looking out over the desert. 

"This could almost be Arizona, couldn't it?" she said softly. Shiro nodded. 

"I was thinking the same thing," he agreed. "It'll be good to get back." It was oddly easy to imagine her there, in the small home Keith had made his own out in the desert.

"I'm looking forward to seeing this Garrison you and Keith have talked about," Krolia said after a moment. "He once told me it was the first place he ever really considered home." Shiro blinked over at Krolia in surprise, and she looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. "You didn't know that?" 

"No, I-" Shiro cut himself off, considering. "I knew he got bounced around a lot as a kid," he said slowly. "But he didn't exactly fit in at the Garrison, so I didn't realize…" 

Krolia watched him, considering. 

"But he had you there," she pointed out. Shiro flushed, looking out over the sand to avoid meeting her gaze. She let the silence stretch for a moment before speaking again. "I thanked your clone, when I first met him, for helping Keith become the man he is today. I just realized I never told you that once you returned." 

"I actually remember some of that time," Shiro admitted. "You and Keith showing up is… pretty memorable." He steadfastly ignores how Krolia's lips curl up at that. "But really, there's nothing to thank me for. I was just a friend who happened to show up at the right time, and he was just as much a friend to me." 

Krolila reached out, placing a hand on Shiro's arm. 

"You were family for him, when he desperately needed one." 

Something in Shiro's chest twisted at that. _You're my brother._ It had kept him awake at night, had left him wondering if this new tension between them was entirely one-sided. It was probably the only reason he hadn't acted on it. 

"You're his family, Krolia," he said quietly. "I know how important that is to you, and I wouldn't presume to try to fill that role." 

"Family isn't a one-person role," Krolia said. "It doesn't have to be one or the other."

She turned, looking back behind them at where Keith was setting up some crates to serve as makeshift chairs around the fire Lance and Allura were coaxing to life. Her face softened at the sight. 

"I had two years alone with him, and I will forever be grateful for that," she said after a moment. "I like to think they were pretty formative years. We got to know each other. I got to be a mother. I love him, and I know he loves me." She paused, leaning forward a bit to catch Shiro's eye. "And I know that if he had to choose between the two of us, he'd choose you, every time." 

"He- I-" He floundered for a moment, unable to piece his words together. "I'd never ask that of him," he finally said, firmly. 

"I know," she replied easily. "Because you're a good man, and you love him." She said it very matter-of-factly, as if the words hadn't punched the air out of Shiro's lungs. "I just want you to understand how important you are to him," she said carefully. "And as an extension of that, you're important to me, too. That's why I'm telling you this: If I learned anything from my time on Earth with Tex, and then with Keith, it's that we never know how much time we have with whatever kind of family we're lucky enough to find. I'd imagine you know that almost as well as I do, at this point." 

Shiro nodded wordlessly, not trusting himself to speak. 

"And yet you still wait." Her tone was somewhere between fond and accusing, and Shiro looked up to try to read her expression just in time to see her stand to greet Keith, who had approached unheard as Krolia spoke. "Keith! Shiro and I were just talking about you." 

"I feel like I should be concerned about that," came Keith's wry response, and Shiro took a moment to compose himself before turning to smile at him. 

"I was just telling her about the time you stayed up so late studying for an exam that you slept through the actual test," Shiro said, hoping he sounded calmer than he felt. Keith barked out a laugh. 

"You lied through your teeth, told Iverson I'd been up sick all night so he'd let me take it the next day," Keith said, grinning. "And they thought you were the _good_ one." Shiro shrugged as Krolia chuckled. She reached out to squeeze Keith's arm as she passed him, heading back toward camp. Keith watched her go, eyes narrowed slightly, before settling onto the sand beside Shiro. "So what were you guys really talking about?" 

"Family," Shiro said, after a brief pause. "And how lucky I am to have found such a great one." He lifted his arm, almost clasping Keith's shoulder closest to him out of habit, but at the last second he diverted, placing it on the farther shoulder instead, giving it a squeeze, then leaving his arm draped around Keith's shoulders. As Keith leaned into him without hesitation, he thought maybe he was done waiting.


End file.
